Electric traction is a highly advantageous substitute to conventional fossil fuel-based traction systems. The traction transformer is an integral part of the electric traction system. Traction transformers present on-board the trains and rolling stock transform the high voltage from the overhead catenary into low usable voltage for the traction motors.

The traction transformer is divided into three major segments based on type, namely, tap changing, tapped, and rectifier. Tapped transformers contribute the maximum revenue (89.5% in 2013) to the traction transformer market as they are being used in locomotives and high speed trains due to their higher power rating. Tap-changing traction transformers are mainly used in EMUs and rectifier traction transformers are used for the propulsion of trams and trolley cars and the other urban transit systems.

Traction transformers are mainly used in four kinds of rolling stock:

High-Speed Trains

Electric Locomotives

Electric Multiple Units (EMUs)

Trams

Typically, the traction transformers used in high-speed trains and electric locomotives require a high power rating (>5.5 MVA). EMUs are run at medium power rating and trams are generally run on DC traction systems.

As the congestion of the road and airways is becoming a major transportation concern for many developing and developed countries, governments are looking at projects like high-speed trains and tramways to ease this pressure. Thus, the traction transformer market is a key component of the overall growth of the rail transport industry.

The growth rate of traction transformers in high speed trains has been above average in the last five years and its unit shipments have been forecasted to grow from 315 units in 2013 to 541 units in 2018 at a CAGR of 11.43% from 2013 to 2018.

The global traction transformer revenue market is expected to grow from $1.17 billion in 2013 to $1.69 billion in 2018 at a CAGR of 7.52%. In terms of revenue, the electric locomotive market for traction transformers is the largest, but shipment-wise, EMUs are the major contributors. This is mainly because the electric locomotive traction transformer market is a high revenue market while EMU traction transformer market is a high volume market. The global unit shipment market is expected to grow from 6,031 units in 2013 to 8,507 units in 2018 at a CAGR of 7.12%. The average selling price (ASP) of a traction transformer for high speed trains and electric locomotives is generally higher than that for EMUs and trams.

This report also segments the global market by geography considering four segments - the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), and Rest of the World (ROW). The traction transformer market is highly geography specific, with Europe leading the pack due to its early acceptance of the electric traction technology. U.S. is the biggest potential market in the Americas due to the current (2013) low electrification adoption rate. APAC is an emerging market due to its high population density and is growing at a CAGR of 8.14% from 2013 to 2018 in terms of revenue.

The Power Electronic Traction Transformer (Solid-State Traction Transformer) is being called the "fourth revolution" in traction technology. The traction transformer market is moving towards power electronic traction transformers (PETT), which use power electric components instead of the usual components and this is a major opportunity for the market in the future.

The major companies involved in traction transformer market include ABB (Switzerland), Siemens AG (Germany) and Alstom SA (France). ABB is the market leader with over fifty percent market share.

Scope of the report

This research report categorizes the global traction transformer market based on type, rolling stock, voltage networkand geographies; it also covers the forecasted revenue from 2012 to 2018. It describes the deployments of traction transformers in various regions.